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PARTNERS | HEALTHY CITY | HOW HEALTHY | VISION | SUMMIT | PRIORITIES | FUNCTIONS | CITY OF FALL RIVER |
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The longest
boardwalk outside the city of Boston is located on the Taunton River in
Fall River. The entire pathway extends for more than a mile from Heritage State Park to Bicentennial
Park. The walkway includes an approximately 140-foot-long viewing pier
that extends out into the river roughly halfway between the Regatta
Restaurant and the City Pier. The $2.2 million project was overseen by the
Massachusetts Seaport Advisory Council and funded by a 1996 Seaport Bond
Bill created to allow for revitalization and restoration projects in the
Commonwealth’s port cities and towns.
It is the largest construction effort the Council has ever undertaken.
The boardwalk is part
of a grand plan to improve the city's waterfront. City officials hope to
move Route 79 east, paving the way for development of the eight parcels
there, possibly with restaurants and shop complexes. To read the 2002
Herald News editorial about the project,
click here. | ||
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Said Kenneth Fiola, Jr., Executive Vice President of the Fall River Office
of Economic Development in the planning stages of the project, "We expect
that the boardwalk will encourage the community to discover, and in many
cases rediscover, the simple pleasures of waterfront living." In fact, in
its first year of use the walkway has become a highly popular venue for
walkers who wish to get some healthy exercise while enjoying the water
view.
Mayor Edward M. Lambert Jr., called the waterfront the city’s "front
porch". "This is a great area for the citizens of Fall River, but it’s
also an area people from other communities come down to enjoy as well," he
said. From the foot traffic this summer, it is clear that many people are
doing just that! (Quotations from the Fall River Herald News) | ||